Book Club Pick: June 2021
Title: Game Changer
Author: Neal Shusterman
Series: Stand alone novel
Country: United States of America
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
First Published: 2021
Pages: 387
Publisher Description:
All it takes is one hit on the football field, and suddenly Ash’s life doesn’t look quite the way he remembers it. Impossible though it seems, he’s been hit into another dimension — and keeps on bouncing through worlds that are almost-but-not-really his own. The changes start small, but they quickly spiral out of control as Ash slides into universes where he has everything he’s ever wanted, universes where society is stuck in the past…universes where he finds himself looking at life through entirely different eyes.
Review:
Game Changer is an exploration of privilege and perspective in a post coronavirus world told through the eyes of Ash Bowman, a white, heterosexual, cisgender, high school football player.
After a head injury during a football match Ash enters a parallel universe where small details have changed, such as stop signs are no longer red they are now blue.
Each time Ash hits his head he enters a new alternative reality where the changes are more noticeable.
It is through Ash’s journey, through these alternative realities, that the novel tackles issues, such as poverty, drugs, class structure, abuse, racism, sexism, and homophobia.
While the concept is applaudable I feel that Shusterman attempted to tackle too many issues in the book and that not enough time was spent to explore each issue properly.
Shusterman is a strong writer that can devise a compelling novel with plenty of twits and turns. This is a well intended project that unfortunately just fell short in its execution.
Links:
Neal Shusterman Official Website
Source: I borrowed this book from my public library.
